Car-coupling.



No. 889,816. PATENTBD JUNE '2, 190a.

' P. SCHMIDT,

GAR GOUPLINGJ APPLIOATION FILED APR. 8,1907.

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PATENTED; JUNE '2, 1908 P. SCHMIDT. GAR G0 APPLICATION r UPLING.

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PAUL SOHMID'LOF, DORTMUND, GERMANY.

. CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1908 Application filed April 8, 1907. Serial No. 367,018.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL SCHMIDT, subject of the German Emperor, residing at Dortmund, in the Kingdom of Prussia and Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and useful 1m rovements in Car-Couplings, of which the f0 lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to car couplings in which a knuckle-opening lever is provided which has one arm acting upon the tail of the knuckle While the other arm is controlled by a s ring which tends to open the knuckle, a 100 ing lever being provided normally preventing opening movement of the knuckle.

The new feature of my invention as compared with the prior art consists in the fact that the locking-lever when moved from its locking position is held by a spring-controlled pawl in the retracted position until the pawl when the knuckle is opened is moved by the knuckle-opening lever out of the path of the locking lever. Consequently, only two spring-controlled levers are necessary to attain the object in view and the provision of a special spring engaging the knuckle is rendered unnecessary.

In the accompanying drawing, showing one embodiment of the invention, Figures 1 and 2 are horizontal sectional views showing the device in coupled and open position, respectively; Figs. 3 and 4 represent details and Fig. 5 is a detail view on an enlarged scale.

Pivoted to the bolt 3 fixed in the wall of the draw-head 1 is theknuckle 4. Also secured in said wall is a bolt 5 to which the knuckle-opening lever 6 is pivoted. The lever 6 is provided at one end with a pin. 7 which when the lever 6 is moved counterclockwise abuts against the wall of a groove 8 provided in the knuckle 4, thereby tending to turn the knuckle 4 into the open position when the latter is disengaged from the drawhead of the other car. The opposite end 12 of the knuckle-opening lever 6 is controlledby a spring 13 mounted in a box 14, the latter belng supported by a bifurcated part 27 on the bolt 15 which is fixed in the drawhead 1.

A pawl 9 is pivoted to the bolt 5 and is provided with two projections 10, 11, Fig. 3. The pawl is controlled by a spring 25. To the bolt 15 a locking lever 16 is pivoted. The lever 16 has a shoulder 17 which is adapted to support the tail-end 18 of the knuckle 4 and at 19 the locking lever is provided with a rod 21.

bifurcated part, Fig. 4:, to which is attached the pin 20 of an operating rod 21. The looking lever is provided with a shoulder 22 adapted to be engaged by the projection 11 of thepawl 9 when the locking lever 16 is drawn backwards by a pull exerted on the A spring 28 tends to keep the lever 16 in the position in which it looks the knuckle, Fig. 1.

The operation is as follows :If the knuckle is to be opened the locking lever is first drawn backwards by means of the rod 21 against the action of the spring 28, and

the shoulder 17 supporting the tail-piece '18 of the knuckle i moves away from the latter. During its rearward movement the lever 16 first hits the projection 11 of the pawl 9 and swings the pawl against the action of the spring 25 and subsequently the pawl is returned by its spring and its rojection 11 en gages the shoulder 22 of t e looking lever and holds the latter in the retracted position as shown in Fig. 5. Now the cars may move away from one another without necessitating any operation of the rod 21.

When the two cars are removed from each other the head of the knuckle loses its support in the draw-head of the other car and the knuckle-opening lever 6, 12 is turned by the spring 13 and its forward end moves downwardly, and the knuckle 4 is swung to open position, Fig. 2, through the medium of t e connection 7, 8. Simultaneously herewith the arm 12 of the lever 6, 12 hits the projection 10 of the pawl 9 and lifts the awl to cause the projection 11 to pass out 0 engagement with the shoulder 22 of the locking lever 16, the latter being returned to its original position by the spring 28.

For the purpose of coupling it is only necessary that the cars move up to each other with the knuckles open. The knuckles then move each other to coupling position and are locked in this position by the lever 16. At the same time the knuckle-opening lever is forced back into its position of rest, Fig. 1, the spring 13 being put under tension.

Having now fully described my invention, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A car coupler comprising a draw-head, a knuckle swingingly mounted in said head and having a tail-piece, a swinging locking lever having a shoulder normally engaging the tail-piece to lock the knuckle in its closed position, a double-armed lever pivotally mounted in the head and having a part engaging the knuckle, a spring tending to swing the double-armed lever to cause it to open the knuckle, means for swinging the locking lever out of the path of the tail-piece of the knuckle to permit the knuckle to open, and a pawl having a part adapted to engage the locking lever to hold said lever in its retracted position and having a part adapted to be engaged by the double-armed lever during the opening movement of the knuckle to release the locking lever from the pawl and permit the locking lever to return to i locking position.

2. A car coupler comprising a draw-head, a knuckle swingingly mounted in said head and having a tail-piece, a swinging locking lever having a shou der normally engaging the l J tail-piece to lock the knuckle in its closed position, a spring tending to hold the locking lever in the position to lock the knuckle, a double-armed lever pivotally mounted in the draw-head, a connection between the v knuckle and the double-armed lever causing them to swing together, a spring tending to swing the double-armed lever to cause it to open the knuckle, an operating rod for swinging the locking lever out of the path of the tail-piece to permit the double-armed lever to open the knuckle through the medium of its spring, and a spring-pressed pawl having a pair of projections one of which is adapted to engage thelocking lever to hold said lever in its retracted position and the other of which is adapted to be engaged by the double-armed lever during the opening movement of the knuckle to move the firstnamed projection out of the path of the looking lever and permit said lever to be returned by its spring to locking position.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

PAUL SCHMIDT. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

OTTo KoNIG, J. A. RITTERSHAUs. 

